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Solar Installer GuildUnited States · independent

Alternative Power Solutions, Inc.

Solar energy system service · Sonora, CA

What the listing shows you

3.7★

6 Google reviews

What it doesn’t

33%

rated 1–2★

typical in California, 1%

Newest review held

Aug 2025

no held review in a year

Google's rating breakdown · all 6 reviews

Rated 1–2★
33%
typical in California, 1%
Posted an update
—
we saw no owner post, which is not the same as none existing
Replies to reviewers
0%
of the 6 reviews we hold

Its one and two star share is 32 points above the typical installer in California. Across California, 106 of the 1,529 installers whose breakdown Google has published carry a higher share than this one.

The percentages are Google’s own arithmetic over every review it holds, not a sample we assembled. Separately we hold 6 review texts for this company, quoted below. Google publishes review ages rather than dates, so every date here is approximate.

Every company we hold in California, on one axis

none

1–5%

6–10%

11–20%

over 20%

Every company we hold in California whose Google breakdown has been read, grouped by their share of one and two star reviews. Alternative Power Solutions, Inc. is in the highlighted group.

What reviewers said

  • 1★ · around August 2025

    WARNING: Sorry to say this company is in trouble. No longer bonded (bond cancelled 2/1/25) and their contractor's license is suspended. Now they are under investigation by the California State Licensing Board. They ghosted us also, and have not repaid our deposit despite promising to do so (in writing and verablly over the phone) back in October 2024. Buyer beware.

  • 1★ · around August 2025

    We had a frustrating experience with Alternative Power Solutions, Inc. (APS Solar) in Sonora, owned (currently or formerly) by Rick Burkhard. Nate and Hayden came out for an estimate to install backup batteries and suggested we apply for the SGIP program to subsidize the cost. We found an amazing company to help with the application, and after months of effort, we secured approval and notified APS. That’s when things fell apart. Communication from APS became sporadic at best. Nate and Hayden would occasionally respond with vague promises to start the installation "as soon as they finished thei

  • 5★ · around August 2024

    2024: Rick has retired, and Nate has taken over the business and continues to run it well. Rick had refused to install a battery, saying the technology and market weren't there yet, but with the power outages up here and PG&E credits, a battery makes a lot more sense now. Nate was very professional and competent. One note, they do seem very busy, and have had some staffing issues, so it may be worth some patience getting a hold of him. We got a quote from multiple people to add a battery, and APS was by far the most competitive. 2021: Rick is extremely professional, competent, and easy to work

  • 5★ · around August 2023

    APS provided us with a solar panel system six years ago. When my control unit bit the dust, Rick was out here quickly to diagnose it. He tried to repair the unit but was unable to, and it was out of warranty. He found a used replacement, and worked very hard with the factory to reprogram it, and then installed it in a different location in the house. His customer service was nothing short of amazing. My wife and I are very happy that we went with APS Solar.

  • 5★ · around August 2020

    APS installed 24 panels 2.5 years ago for us and did a great job in estimated our needs as well as cost. Great job, very happy with the results.

Reviewer names are not published here. Negative reviews are shown first because they are the ones a listing hides, not because they are more representative.

What reviewers keep mentioning

  • battery 2

Topics Google derives from the review text, with how often each appears. A frequent topic is not a good one: “price” turns up in praise and in complaints alike.

Elsewhere

  • It is also reviewed on Angi and Yelp. Worth reading before you sign anything: those are a different crowd, and the complaints that reach the Better Business Bureau rarely reach Google.

When they say they are open

Sunday
Closed
Monday
9 AM to 4 PM
Tuesday
9 AM to 4 PM
Wednesday
9 AM to 4 PM
Thursday
9 AM to 4 PM
Friday
9 AM to 4 PM
Saturday
Closed

As Google published them when we last read the listing, not a live check. Ring before you drive anywhere.

Who Google shows alongside them

Google’s own “people also viewed” set, in Google’s order. It is Google’s comparison, not ours.

The ones without a link have no page here, either because Google does not categorise them as solar businesses or because we could not match the name to a listing with confidence.

Other installers around Sonora

1–2★3★4★5★gauge 0–20%typical here, 1%

Ordered by how much we can tell you about each, which is not an order of quality. We do not know which of these is better and would not say if we did.

What we don't know

  • The date above is the newest review we hold, which is not necessarily the newest that exists — we hold a large share of Google's reviews, not all of them.
  • We found nothing on a website for this company that states a warranty, a licence or how long it has traded.
  • We do not verify licences, insurance or bonding. Nothing here has been checked against a state licensing board.
  • We cannot tell you what an installation costs, and we hold nothing about the equipment they fit.

Something wrong here? Tell us and a person will read it.

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